D.C.-area nightlife, events and dining

At Mighty Pint, generous offerings are light on your wallet

Mighty Pint server Sarah Watson flips a coin to see whether the next beer for Michael Moldoff, center, will be free. Moldoff was at the M Street NW bar with Stephen Kaputa, left, and Patrick Galloway.
(Mark Gail/the Washington Post)

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As I grabbed a seat at the Mighty Pint one Thursday night, the bartender nodded and asked what I wanted.

"Yuengling, please."

He pulled a quarter from atop the cash register and asked, "Heads or tails?" as it flipped through the air.

"Heads."

"Tails," he said with a smile after it landed on his wrist. "Sorry, man. $5."

Well, I'd have another shot for a free beer once this glass was empty.

The current economic climate has had an obvious effect on bars and clubs, perhaps most notably by the number of specials to lure in extra business. But few can match the Mighty Pint, which opened in the old Madhatter space on M Street in May, when it comes to deals that leave your wallet feeling a little more full.

Every Thursday, for example, the Pint's "Flip Night" lets customers attempt to win free drinks with a flip of the coin. No matter what drink you order after 8 p.m., your bartender flips a coin. You call the toss, your drink is free. You lose, you pay the usual price.

And that's saying nothing of the regular-ol' happy hour, which runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day -- a full nine hours -- and offers $3 pints of Guinness, Yuengling, Miller Lite or Blue Moon and $5 pints of mixed drinks.

(This is one place where "pint size" isn't an insult -- it's the way draft beers and cocktails are served.)

But when happy hour is winding down and you're getting ready to settle up, one of the personable bartenders will sidle over and say something like, "Hey, just wanted to let you guys know that we've got specials that start at 8 p.m."

Those specials include 5-cent wings, $3 Yuenglings and $10 pitchers of Miller Lite on Mondays; $2 22-ounce Miler Lite drafts and $6 16-ounce cocktails on Tuesdays; $2 16-ounce PBR cans on Wednesdays; or the flip-for-a-free-drink deal on Thursdays, which also includes $1 slices of pizza and half-price appetizers. All those deals start at 8 p.m. and run until close.